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SQL Server 2008 is out! All editions are on MSDN now except for Express, which should hopefully follow soon. Enjoy!

The MERGE syntax I used here has changed. In 2008 RC0 the ''WHEN SOURCE NOT MATCHED'' clause is replaced with ''WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE'' which is supposed to make the meaning clearer. Although MERGE is part of standard SQL 2003 it's worth noting that the SOURCE NOT MATCHED / NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE clause is not part of the standard. ...

SQL Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (build 10.0.1442.32) was released to MSDN and TechNet subscribers on Friday. It should be available to everyone else very soon via the Connect site. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/default.aspx http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/default.aspx   Apart from the new branding ...

In this blog entry I am going to outline the function of the Value Inclusion profile request in the new Data Profiling Task in SQL Server 2008. BOL states about this profile request: Computes the overlap in the values between two columns or sets of columns. This profile can determine whether a column or set of columns is appropriate to serve ...

In this blog entry I am going to outline the function of the Candidate Key profile request in the new Data Profiling Task in SQL Server 2008. BOL states about this profile request: Reports whether a column or set of columns is a key, or an approximate key, for the selected table. This profile also helps you identify problems in your data, ...

In this blog entry I am going to outline the function of the Functional Dependency profile request in the new Data Profiling Task in SQL Server 2008. BOL states about this profile request: Reports the extent to which the values in one column (the dependent column) depend on the values in another column or set of columns (the determinant ...

In this blog entry I am going to outline the function of the Column Value Distribution profile request in the new Data Profiling Task in SQL Server 2008. BOL states about this profile request: Reports all the distinct values in the selected column and the percentage of rows in the table that each value represents. Can also report values that ...

In this blog entry I am going to outline the function of the Column Statistics profile request in the new Data Profiling Task in SQL Server 2008. BOL states about this profile request: Reports statistics, such as minimum, maximum, average, and standard deviation for numeric columns, and minimum and maximum for datetime columns. This profile ...

In this blog entry I am going to outline the function of the Column Pattern profile request in the new Data Profiling Task in SQL Server 2008. BOL states about this profile request: Reports a set of regular expressions that cover the specified percentage of values in a string column. This profile helps you identify problems in your ...

In this blog entry I am going to outline the function of the Column Null Ratio profile request in the new Data Profiling Task in SQL Server 2008. BOL states about this profile request: Reports the percentage of null values in the selected column. This profile helps you identify problems in your data, such as an unexpectedly high ratio ...